Mingo Junction pool active despite difficulties

MEETING — Members of Mingo Junction Village Council discus items during Tuesday’s meeting. — Christopher Dacanay

MINGO JUNCTION — In spite of sporadic technical difficulties, the Mingo Junction Pool has been active and received quite a bit of praise, officials reported during Tuesday’s Village Council meeting.

Councilman Jack Brettell said the pool has been busy this season, and the village has received numerous compliments about its amenities at Aracoma Park.

Village Administrator Darrin Corrigan noted that individuals have been praising the village’s park on social media, with one church group raving about the positive experience it was bringing more than 200 people to the park, with nearly half going swimming.

“They were really, really impressed,” Corrigan said, commending George Stoddart, chief operator of the village water department, for keeping a watchful eye on the facility.

Corrigan said that, after Sunday, the pool will only be open on weekdays for senior swim. The general public will only be able to swim on weekends, though senior swim will continue seven days a week. The pool will close to the general public Sept. 2 and close to all patrons Sept. 16.

As students return to school, scheduling lifeguards becomes harder, Corrigan said.

Although well-attended, this pool season has not been without its challenges. As of Tuesday, the pool had to contend with a broken water heater. Corrigan reported that an individual could arrive and do repairs Wednesday or Thursday.

Additionally, the park’s bocce court scoreboards were vandalized, Brettell said, adding that the current lack of security cameras at the spot has hindered efforts to identify the culprits.

Separately, Corrigan reported that the village water and service departments are contending with staff shortages, with one service employee resting after being injured by a fish tank he was loading onto a garbage truck.

Also, Corrigan said, the water department lost two employees, with one resigning and another taking another job opportunity. The position was subsequently bid by the union contract to a water department employee with a Class I water treatment license, and that person will become the distribution foreman.

Corrigan said he plans to fill both of the department’s open positions to keep up with responsibilities, noting, “It’s rough right now trying to keep up.” With only three plant operators currently, the staff shortage may necessitate overtime, he said.

Councilman Mark Barker later commended employees for handling water breaks in spite of staff shortages.

In other business:

Council unanimously passed a resolution accepting the amounts and rates determined by the budget commission, authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor. Village Solicitor Craig Allen noted this is done yearly.

Allen reported that the village’s garbage and income tax levies have been approved by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office and will appear on ballots in the Nov. 5 general election.

Mayor Judy Ruckman said she is “very proud” of participants in the Jefferson County Board of Developmental Disabilities’ Summer Youth Program through Community Employment Services, who painted curbs on Commercial Street and in Aracoma Park, and she intends to honor them during the next meeting with a proclamation.

Interim Fire Chief Austin Raymond reported that the fire department had hired another part-timer and full-timer, bringing the total to three full-time firefighters with many other part-timers returning. Raymond reported that an ambulance has returned from being serviced, and it will be swapped with the ambulance currently being used.

Police Chief Willie McKenzie III provided council with information about a possible new cruiser purchase. Regarding cruisers, Councilman Jack Brettell said the department should use its undercover vehicle for court trips to cut back on cruiser wear and tear.

Sewer department Chief Operator Kyle Moffat reported that the Environmental Protection Agency wants to know what’s being done about a St. Clair Avenue sewer line going into a storm drain. A major problem, he said, is the fact that Commercial Street’s 36-inch storm drain was found to be half full of tightly packed gravel, about 2 feet deep. Moffat said that, as far as he knows, the drain has never been cleaned out, and it likely needs to be replaced.

Councilwoman Pat Cramblett reported that the Mingo Junction Senior Center held a successful free lunch day. Ruckman noted that renovations there are progressing well.

Baker raised concerns about tall grass on McLister Avenue, and Councilwoman Patti Mannarino raised concerns about potholes near the state Route 7 rockfall remediation project site access area on Logan Avenue.

Councilwoman Jodilynn Fitzgerald reported that the village’s health insurance provider, Ohio Insurance Services, is seeing an average of between 8 percent and 12 percent in renewal increases going into 2025, though the increase can be affected by the village’s demographics.

Like it’s done in years past, council approved a block party to utilize the southern half of Eleanor Street Sept. 14 from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. Traffic will be diverted on Vine Street.

Ruckman told Scenic Drive resident Taylor Bodo that the village has helped him as much as possible to deal with a flooding issue in his home that stemmed from a pipe, the clog in which was situated around 50 feet away from his home and down a hill. Bodo said he hopes his insurance covers the $7,500 fix, and he’d hoped the village would help with expenses, considering how far the clog was from his property. He acknowledged the help individuals with the sewer department have given him.